My Wines

My Cellar

Well here we are! Almost 19 years after opening our first winery in California; 13 years after moving to Virginia and planting our first Virginia Vineyard; 9 years after crafting our first Virginia wines; and almost 9 years with the doors open to the public at Rappahannock Cellars! It's been exciting and rewarding; and to you, our great customers, we say "Thank-You".
As many of you know we f... Read more

Well here we are! Almost 19 years after opening our first winery in California; 13 years after moving to Virginia and planting our first Virginia Vineyard; 9 years after crafting our first Virginia wines; and almost 9 years with the doors open to the public at Rappahannock Cellars! It's been exciting and rewarding; and to you, our great customers, we say "Thank-You".
As many of you know we first started our winery over 18 years ago in California in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We had the privilege of tending vines whose planting dated back to 1910, and cut our wine making teeth, so to speak, on making many of the same varietals (including Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc) we now produce in Virginia.
We planted our Virginia vineyard in 1999, built our winery and produced our first vintage in 2000 and opened the tasting room to the public in 2001. Why Virginia.......we would like to say that our move was conceived from the great potential in creating Virginia wines, but to be truthful, that was a secondary motive. The primary reason was (and still is) the people! We moved to Virginia to raise our family – being involved in a great blossoming wine industry is simply icing on the cake. When you visit us you might find our children working behind the tasting bar, tending the vines or involved in the cellar – you may even find a few of the youngest playing out front. Needless to say, your children are always welcome at Rappahannock Cellars. We have a children’s corner with books and games for the young set and outdoor space for a game of “Frisbee” for the older crew.
We are often asked, “How does growing grapes and making wine in Virginia compare with California?” My answer is simple, “It doesn’t. It’s a lot harder!” You have to be an astute farmer to deal with the difficult conditions here, as well as a more flexible and intuitive wine maker. Mother Nature doles out something different every year, but you can usually count on plenty of moisture during the growing season. This keeps the farmer in us on our toes while we battle a myriad of grapevine diseases. California tends to be extremely consistent from year to year in any given vineyard – not so in Virginia. As a Virginia wine-maker you have to have a sixth-sense for fruit character and the wine that results from it, all the while adjusting wine making styles to fit the fruit. This is not the place to be a “single-styled” wine-maker. This extra attention to detail, and adaptation on our part, yields many benefits – the greatest being the different tastes, textures and aromas our tasting room visitors experience every year. Read less

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